A California man was arrested this week after he allegedly sent threatening online messages to the Merriam-Webster company over dictionary definitions containing references to gender identity, according to court documents.
Jeremy David Hanson,34, of Rossmoor, was charged with one count of interstate communication of threats to commit violence in federal court, according to the US Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts, where Merriam-Webster is based. CNN left messages at numbers associated with his family on Saturday, but were not returned. CNN has also reached out to Merriam-Webster for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication. According to a criminal complaint, between October 2 and October 8,2021, Merriam-Webster received threatening messages submitted online through the company website’s « Contact Us » page and in the comments section for webpages corresponding to the definitions for the words « Girl » and « Woman. » A user registered as @anonYmous also shared opinions « about certain controversial topics and comments demonstrating bias » in the comments section for the webpages corresponding with the definitions for « Boy, » « Girl, » Female, » and « Trans Woman, » the complaint says. One post from @anonYmous under the dictionary entry for « female » on October 2nd, reads: « It is absolutely sickening that Merriam-Webster now tells blatant lies and promotes anti-science propaganda.
